A Friday question.....When the show is sold for foreign language markets do the original studios/producer/show creators get a say in who gets cast to do the voiceovers? Or if they want to do any changes to the names, etc? [As like one poster said, changing Norm's name to Helmut]. Or do the buyers of said program basically say "Thanks, we'll take it from here." I would think they'd want a say because you wouldn't want someone sounding like Werner Klemperer doing the voice of Woody.

Those were the days when German TV executives thought it's better to change important details than to trust the audience's intelligence. All the characters' names were changed and I believe that Hubert "Hubsi" Milbe (Sam Malone) was turned into an ex-soccer goalie. In this context it is utterly surprising that the show had low ratings during its original run in Germany and was cancelled after just a few episodes (sorry about the lost royalties, Ken).

Before the advent of the internet and streaming services there were very few opportunities for Germans to watch US TV shows in their original form. TV-wise it was the Dark Ages. AFN TV was available in very few areas for people willing to invest in an NTSC-capable TV set and in some areas you could watch via foreign stations (e.g. Dutch TV). Then DVDs came along with the original language track (expensive, but worth it for stellar shows such as THE SOPRANOS).

At least in Germany you had it.I just read on Wikipedia that Cheers got aired a couple times in Italy. I'm 38 and I hadn't noticed.Noone talks about it and noone knows what it is in Italy, except probably sitcom or exaggerated American culture lovers.Unlike Happy Days or Friends or other well located and re-aired shows, other big American shows that have no recognition in Italy are Seinfeld, Frasier and M.A.S.H. A common Italian wouldn't know what they are if mentioned.

No, Buttermilk Sky, the gag's still funny. Only now it can also be funny to the Germans when they use the same gag about us in one of their TV shows. It's not less funny just because under Trump we've become a "Zeig mir deine Papiere" culture.

Yikes, that singer doesn't exactly have Gary Portnoy's range. Sounds like one of those people who sing the National Anthem at a minor league ballpark and realize about a third of the way through that they started too high.

"I do not understand this expression, 'the good word'. Words are intrinsically neither good nor bad, they are linguistic constructs that we use in context to define philosophical ideas, among other things.

About KEN LEVINE

Named one of the BEST 25 BLOGS by TIME Magazine. Ken Levine is an Emmy winning writer/director/producer/major league baseball announcer. In a career that has spanned over 30 years Ken has worked on MASH, CHEERS, FRASIER, THE SIMPSONS, WINGS, EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND, BECKER, DHARMA & GREG, and has co-created three series. He and his partner wrote the feature VOLUNTEERS. Ken has also been the radio/TV play-by-play voice of the Baltimore Orioles, Seattle Mariners, San Diego Padres. and Dodger Talk. He hosts the podcast HOLLYWOOD & LEVINE

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